Alan Bibey (born 1964) is a mandolin player, singer, songwriter, and bandleader from Walnut Cove, North Carolina. He was a founding member of IIIrd Tyme Out in 1990, co-led BlueRidge, and has led Grasstowne since 2006. He won IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year in 2019 and 2020, and SPBGMA named him Mandolin Player of the Year four times. Gibson made an Alan Bibey signature mandolin in 2004.
Why Bibey matters
Bibey is a player’s player in contemporary bluegrass. His breaks are fast, clean, and full of ideas, with a strong blues streak and smart use of the whole neck. He has spent 40 years in hard-working bands, and he sounds at home on a gospel quartet, a driving bluegrass song, or a twin mandolin duet. His 2013 duet album with Wayne Benson, The Mandolin Chronicles, is a study guide for modern bluegrass mandolin.
Life and career
Bibey grew up in Walnut Cove, North Carolina. His father and his mother’s brothers played bluegrass. At five, his father took him to see Bill Monroe, and Alan took up the mandolin right away. He played fiddlers’ conventions and contests and two bands with his father, and at 12 he and his dad recorded the album Southern Tradition. At 14 he joined Interstate Exchange with banjo player Sammy Shelor. At 17 he won the mandolin championship at the 1982 World’s Fair in Knoxville.
In 1985 he went full time with the New Quicksilver, with Terry Baucom, Randy Graham, and Jimmy Haley. In 1990 he co-founded IIIrd Tyme Out with Russell Moore, Mike Hartgrove, Ray Deaton, and Baucom, and played on their first three albums. He later played with Lou Reid and Carolina. In 1997 the New Quicksilver reunited as Baucom, Bibey, and BlueRidge, whose album Side by Side earned a Grammy nomination. His solo album In the Blue Room came out on Sugar Hill in 2000 with Tony Rice, Jerry Douglas, and Del McCoury.
In 2006 he formed Grasstowne with Steve Gulley and Phil Leadbetter. The band has recorded for Pinecastle, Rural Rhythm, Mountain Fever, Morning Glory, and Billy Blue. In 2013 he and Wayne Benson released The Mandolin Chronicles. He won IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year in 2019 and 2020.
Playing style
Bibey plays with a hard, bright attack and great speed. He uses Monroe’s blues notes, but he adds long chromatic runs and phrases that climb high on the neck. His breaks often start with a bold opening lick that announces the solo, then wind through the melody with a lot of motion.
He is also a strong rhythm player and harmony singer. In Grasstowne his chop drives the band, and his fills answer the singers with short, punchy licks.
Influences and legacy
Bibey’s first hero was Bill Monroe. He has played beside Sammy Shelor, Terry Baucom, Russell Moore, Junior Sisk, Steve Gulley, Phil Leadbetter, and Wayne Benson.
He appeared on Jimmy Gaudreau’s 1994 album of young mandolin players. Wayne Benson followed him in IIIrd Tyme Out after Lou Reid. His Gibson signature model and his instructional DVD have reached many younger players.
Signature tunes and songs
Nine Pound Hammer Rawhide Gonna Rise and Shine.
Essential recordings
IIIrd Tyme Out, with IIIrd Tyme Out (Rebel, 1991) In the Blue Room (Sugar Hill, 2000) Side by Side, with BlueRidge (Sugar Hill, 2004) The Mandolin Chronicles, with Wayne Benson (Pinecastle, 2013) Gonna Rise and Shine, with Grasstowne (Morning Glory, 2019)
Awards and honors
World’s Fair mandolin championship, Knoxville (1982) IBMA Instrumental Recorded Performance and Recorded Event of the Year (2001) Grammy nomination, Best Bluegrass Album, Side by Side, with BlueRidge SPBGMA Mandolin Player of the Year (2007, 2009, 2010, 2018) IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year (2019) IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year (2020)
Watch and listen
Bibey plays Nine Pound Hammer for the Acoustic Shoppe. Watch how much ground his right hand covers.
What to learn from Bibey
Learn a break to Nine Pound Hammer. Then write a strong opening lick for it, two beats long, that you could use as a signature every time the song comes around. Bibey’s breaks grab attention in the first measure. A bold start makes the rest of a solo easier to play and easier to hear.
Sources
Alan Bibey, Wikipedia Mandolin Player of the Year, IBMA recipients by year Jimmy Gaudreau, Wikipedia Doyle Lawson, Wikipedia
Related players
See the mandolin players hub and the mandolin guide. Bibey recorded a duet album with Wayne Benson. His first full-time band, the New Quicksilver, was formed by former members of Doyle Lawson’s Quicksilver. Jesse Brock and Sierra Hull won the IBMA award in the years around his wins.